Speed cameras OK after viral hack

VICTORIAN speed cameras have been deemed unaffected following a ransomware attack, which forced the government to freeze all speeding fines issued from the beginning of June.

The determination was made in an interim report into the cause of the malicious software, and the impact on fixed road safety cameras, released by Road Safety Camera Commissioner John Voyage.

"There is no evidence that the virus infection had any impact on the overall performance of the infected systems," Mr Voyage said.

The report revealed there is no evidence that the 'WannaCry virus' infection has affected the integrity of Speed and Red-Light camera infringements, as the clocks on the infected machines are not used to calculate detected speed.

"I applaud the caution shown by the authorities, but I find that there is no reason for the subject infringements to continue to be withheld," Mr Voyage said.

The first indication occurred in June when twenty cameras on the Hume Highway crashed.

The investigation was hampered by the fact that the crashed systems were not themselves infected by the virus and displayed no symptoms other than random failures.

It was a week after the initial infection the camera contractor detected the WannaCry virus on a Windows 7-based Camera Control Unit.

It was widely reported the system had been infected during a routine service by an independent camera tester who inserted the infected USB stick into on-site cameras on June 6.

Minister for Police Lisa Neville MP, had called for further investigation into the origin of the USB.